


Rumors

by cosmic_uwus



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bi Disaster, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Enby Pidge, Gay Keith (Voltron), Hunk takes care of everyone, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, M/M, accidental rumors
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:54:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27622349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosmic_uwus/pseuds/cosmic_uwus
Summary: Lance sat down at one of the long tables in the lecture hall. It was 9:30 am and he regretted choosing that as a time for a lecture-heavy class. Really what made him think ‘oh yeah astrophysics at 9:30 in the fucking morning is a great idea?’
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Kudos: 12





	Rumors

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys!  
> So I decided to revamp the fic and make it a three-parter because yeah. SO here's part one I'm hoping to be done with part two by Christmas so please be patient :)  
> Thanks for sticking with me so, please enjoy!

Lance sat down at one of the long tables in the lecture hall. It was 9:30 am and he regretted choosing that as a time for a lecture-heavy class. Really what made him think _‘oh yeah astrophysics at 9:30 in the fucking morning is a great idea_?’ He plopped into one of the thankfully cushioned seats and watched the door waiting for a familiar face, two to be exact. Not long into his search, a man with a large build and a comparingly small probably human with big round glasses and messy bed head walk in. They quickly noticed Lance while he waved his arms around. 

“Pidge, Hunk! Over here!” he called out, suddenly energetic. Pidge replied to his call with a look that said, ‘ _stop being obnoxious or I’ll punch you,’_ which he read loud and clear. Lance sat back down and settled for greeting them in a more subdued fashion when they got to the table which was something they both appreciated by the looks on their faces. 

Pidge hissed as she sat next to who was unfortunately her friend with a frigid tone. “Thanks for the attention, Lance. Now we have like 50 people looking at us wondering who on this godforsaken planet is interesting enough to be screeched after at 9 in the morning.”

“I’m sure he didn’t mean to be embarrassing Pidge,” Hunk defended. “He was just excited, right Lance?” he asked, sitting down on the other side of him. 

Lance figured he’d ignore the ‘embarrassing’ part to help his case. “You’re right Hunk, thank you for not being _rude_ about my excitement _,_ ” Lance replied, side-eyeing the gremlin who, in return, stuck their tongue out at him.

After a few moments pass, they begin to chuckle amongst themselves and Lance sighed, leaning back into his chair. “Remind me again why we are taking astrophysics so early in the morning? I need rest to keep looking pretty like this.” He wiggled his eyebrows in emphasis to which Pidge returned with an eye roll and Hunk with a small laugh

“Because Takashi Shirogane teaches this class,” they responded matter-of-factly. “He is one of the youngest people to have not only gone to space, next to my brother of course but is also renowned for his research and first-hand experience with quintessence and space travel. Hunk could practically see the question marks over Lance's head mixed with his expression of disinterest and he sighed. “He was voted hottest professor in that poll last semester,” to which Lance perked up. 

“OH HIM!” Lance liked to keep caught up on these things and now he was very excited about the lecture that was coming.

“Easy tiger,” Pidge warned, “He’s spoken for.” 

“How do you know _that_?” the brunette asked, folding his arms over his chest. 

“Because he’s friends with Matt and my dad. They all went on that space excursion together so they got close, like, he saved their lives, close. He actually has a husband, Curtis and they’re very happy together,” she informed him. Lance huffed. Sure he could live a little ambiguously but he wasn’t a homewrecker.

“I guess that’s that then,” Lance sighed, slumping into his seat. “What a shame.” Eventually, a tall woman, with silver hair like starlight and a beautiful dark brown complexion, came in, followed by a smaller girl with long blonde ponytails who actually. 

“Alright know-it-all,” Lance began, elbowing his friend much to their distaste. “Who’s that?” 

“Not a chance lover boy. That’s Allura, as in the daughter of Alfor, founder of Altea tech, as in way out of your league.” Lance frowned and gripped his shirt at his chest.

“Your words hurt me Pidge, I hope you know that.”

“Pidge I think he could have a shot. He’s pretty good looking,” Hunk butted in, defending his friend. 

“At least I have you Hunk,” Lance sighed, to which they scoffed unimpressed, “and you know what, I’m going to go talk to her,” he continued, standing up.

“Alright everyone, take your seats,” the professor announced. He set his briefcase on the desk in the middle of the lecture hall and began to write his name on the large chalkboard. Lance deflated back in his seat while Pidge snickered and Hunk patted his back. Later then… Getting a good look at him, Lance could see why the professor got voted for what he did. His hair was a striking gray for his age and he was muscularly built, with wide firm shoulders complemented by his black not all the way buttoned-up shirt, his lower half accented by tight jeans, and god who crafted this man? This Curtis guy was real, _real_ lucky. 

“My name is Takashi Shirogane, but you guys can call me Shiro, I’ll be your professor for intro to Astrophysics. Now I know you’re all not excited about such an early class, trust me if I had it my way it would later in the day too.” The class chuckled and he smiled. Lance managed to stay tuned in for a good 3 minutes more before he was finding himself focusing on a man sneaking into the room, edging his way against the wall. Now that guy was eye candy too. Lance could do without the mullet but somehow the guy made it work. He was at least as tall as Lance, maybe, just _maybe_ he was a little taller. His eyes were a soft almond shape and his body was slender but muscular, the embodiment of feminine while remaining masculine. What was with the sciences department at this school? His ogling only stopped when Shiro said something different from the lecture. 

“Keith how nice of you to join us, take a seat, yeah?” he said, eyebrow raised and a smile that said he wasn’t asking, he was telling. 

“Sorry, Shiro,” the man, apparently named Keith apologized and sat down in the nearest empty seat. The professor nodded and continued his lecture, completely delved into what he talking about. Lance looked back at Keith and Keith happened to look at Lance and their eyes locked. The brown-haired man’s heart pounded in his chest and he gave Keith a small wave and mouthed a ‘hello,’ which was returned with an awkward expression of realization that he may have been staring and a prompt look away. Lance blinked and looked back to the front. Weird. 

* * *

The class ended a little early since it was the first day of class and Lance could not have been more relieved as they were corraled into the hallway trying to leave. It was like Pidge could read his mind, so before he could even say anything, they made him promise he would stick through the class at least until the next drop date. Lance grumbled and agreed unhappily, rubbing his eyes until someone was shoved into him. Instinctually, he apologized looking behind him and saw Keith. Keith mumbled an apology while trying to push through before Lance managed to stop him. 

“Hey!” he called out, grabbing his elbow. Before he could continue, Keith interrupted him.

“Look, man, I’m sorry I bumped into you I’ll be more careful next time,” he said, eyes on the floor. 

“Wha- no, your name is Keith right?” Said man looked up at Lance and nodded. 

“Uh, yeah, why?” he asked, searching Lance’s face for a hint as to why he could want to talk to him. 

“You came to class late.”

“So?”

“You caught my attention.” Keith’s cheeks flushed bright pink and Lance couldn’t help but grin. “My friends and I are going to get some coffee at a cafe we like, would you like to join us?”

“No- er uh I would, but I have a thing, that I have to do, but maybe some other time... okay bye,” Keith rambled until he finally turned on his heel and walked away, his face rivaling a fire truck. Lance deflated and turned back to a snickering Pidge and an empathetic Hunk. 

“Maybe he had another class to go to?” Hunk offered, patting Lance’s back. 

“Or maybe he’s just not into you,” Pidge added, blowing a bubble with her bubble gum. Lance gave her a side glance and rested his head on Hunk’s shoulder pitifully. 

“Let’s just go get coffee.”

The cafe was a small but popular spot just off campus for college kids to relax comfortably and procrastinate the work they pretend they’re going there to do. The rustic wooden interior and the way mismatched couches and plush chairs were strewn about made it feel warm and relaxed while the smell of freshly brewed coffee wafted around like a soft caress to the cheek. 

Lance inhaled happily, his shoulders relaxing after the first day of a grossly early class.

“Still down buddy?” Hunk asked, sipping at his tea. Pidge gave a side glance

“I don’t understand what has you feeling all down or whatever, you don’t even know this guy,” they interjected, typing away at their laptop, occasionally taking a drink from their hot chocolate.

“And I don’t understand why you don’t drink an adult beverage but here you are, drinking warm chocolate milk.” Pidge gave Lance the middle finger, not bothering to look up at him. 

“You two are like children,” Hunk sighed, rubbing his temples. 

“Hunk be sympathetic to meeee Pidge is being mean and I think I fell in love with him.” Lance pouted and snuggled into Hunk’s chest, fishing for some kind of consolement considering he wasn’t getting any from Pidge, not that he was expecting it. Hunk gave in and pet his head with a sigh. 

“Maybe he just needs to get to know you better first?” he offered. Lance hummed in thought. 

“I don’t know man, he seemed close to Professor Shirogane…” Almost like they were summoned by name, the aforementioned duo came into the shop, laughing about something. Lance ducked down and Hunk blushed. 

“ _Hey! Watch where you’re going_!” he whisper-yelled as to not draw attention. 

“Nowhere I haven’t been before big guy,” Lance whispered back which made Hunk malfunction in the brain. 

“TMI guys!” Pidge groaned covering their face. “Gross.”

“It’s not that gross…” Hunk murmured, embarrassed, and ego now a bit bruised.

“SHHHH!” Lance hushed, peeking over trying to read the duo’s lips. He watched Shirogane ruffle Keith’s hair and Lance puffed his cheeks jealously. “That’s so wrong… even if the man is an adonis,” he grumbled, slouching in his chair. 

“Hey, man don’t worry about it. You’ll find someone at the party tonight,” Hunk offered in hopes of lightening Lance’s mood, which worked mostly but Lance was still admittedly a bit deflated despite his notoriously small attention span for things like this. Lance had experienced “love at first sight” (it probably wasn’t but he was a hopeless romantic after all) before but he was sure it was never anything like this. It felt like he really could have a deep-rooted connection with this guy despite never talking to him or knowing anything about him or most things required to say you feel any type of way towards a person but regardless, Lance slumped into the plush seat and sighed, drinking his now luke-warm mocha chai.

* * *

The loud thumping of the bass from the frat house could be heard from down the block where Pidge ( the go-to DD due to their disinterest in drinking) managed to park the car. “Alright guys, you know the drill, get as hammered as you want but if you throw up in my car I will personally make whatever is left of your life a living hell.” They took off their glasses wiping off some mascara that managed to rub off onto the lens and put them back on. 

“Yes sir,” the two guys saluted in unison and Pidge rolled their eyes

“Let’s go losers.” Lance and Hunk snickered from behind and followed their friend to the already trashed front lawn. Pidge ended up finding their brother Matt and ended up getting pulled away by him and his squad of nerd friends. Hunk would have come with but noticed that Shay, a girl he’s had a crush on for a while, was in a corner with a couple of friends but he also didn’t want to ditch Lance. 

“Just go man,” Lance yelled over the music, following his friend’s puppy eyes. “You’ve been pining over her for the past two semesters and our occasional rendezvous aren’t gonna cut it for you forever.” 

Lance and Hunk had gotten into the infrequent but welcome habit of occasionally “helping each other out” on those nights they were a little tipsy or just touch-starved. Lance usually(almost always) instigated it, but Hunk was fine and happy with obliging. The man had needs too. They never considered going beyond comfortable and friendly hook-ups and were happy with their _friends with benefits but mostly just friends_ non-label. 

“You sure man? I don’t wanna just leave you…” Hunk said nervously while his eyes said something different. 

“ _Very._ I’d rather have you over there than following me around looking like a kicked puppy. I saw James over there anyway so I'll just go hang out with him.” Hunk gave him a grateful nod and headed over, giving Shay an awkward side hug, both of them blushing. They so wanted each other.

Lance headed over to James where there was a series of drinking games set up. He took a seat next to him to take part in whatever was going on. Slowly through the night, Lance managed to get shitfaced, but beforehand, he got to kiss a hot girl and guy that was most definitely his type during a game of spin the bottle. Overall, his day was no longer a complete loss. Eventually, Hunk and Pidge were ready to head home but Lance wasn’t quite ready and managed to convince Kinkade to him a ride home since their apartment wasn’t that far from the frat and sorority houses. His two friends eventually said their goodbyes after a few failed attempts to get him to come home with them. 

Lance managed to get himself from shitfaced to absolute black-out wasted. James and Kinkade made the decision it was best to just take Lance home since he was drifting in and out of consciousness despite his unconvincing attempt to prove he was fine. It took the two of them to hoist the dead weight into the backseat of James’s car. While they drove to the trio’s home, Lance began to rant to himself in his hardly conscious state.

“Keith Kogane you broke my hearrrttt,” he whined, leaning his head against the cold window which felt amazing on his warm cheeks. 

“How’s that buddy?” James asked, stifling a laugh while Ryan snickered. 

“I just wan’ed to talk to’em, but noooo hesh screwing the professor.” 

There was a pause before the questioning turned interrogation “...Uh, which professor would that be Lance?” 

“Shiroganneee. And liek I, can’t even blame him, he’s soooo hawt.” Ryan and James looked at each other for a moment, unsure if they can believe any of it. 

“How do you know Lance? Did you see them?” James asked, blown away by the information. 

“Mmmm yeah. Were all over each other at the cafe today.” 

The two decided to leave it at that since they were already at the apartment and Lance had passed out. They called Hunk out and he easily picked Lance up bridal style and carried him upstairs and to bed, waving the couple off. Lance could not prepare for the shit storm that would become of all this.

* * *

When Lance woke up again, it was at around noon and he had the most wicked hangover he’d ever experienced; potentially ever, and if it wasn’t, it was a runner up. He was lucky:

one: it was Saturday since for some reason classes started up again on a Friday, 

and two: someone had the mind to close the blinds because he thinks that the amount of sunlight at this time of day would have just flat out killed him. 

He sat up gradually and looked over to his nightstand, finding a large glass of water and a granola bar from Hunk. Lance could have cried water looked so good. He chugged it like he’d been stranded in the Sahara desert for days and had finally encountered an oasis within the sandy wasteland. Glass empty and his chin dripping, he sighed and set it down, blessing the higher-ups for gifting him a roommate like Hunk while wiping away the stray water with his sleeve. Opening the granola bar, Lance settled back into bed and decided to scroll through his phone while nibbling on the snack here and there. He decided that after texting Pidge and Hunk back in their group chat that he was still alive, to check Instagram and scope out the damage from the night before. He couldn’t remember a thing to save his life other than some stuff from earlier on in the night, so as long as the night continued on the way it did before he blacked out, he was in the clear. He was tagged in a couple of pictures but there was nothing crazy going on in them to make him think he’d have to change schools and his name and move to the country to raise goats until he dies in isolation. Once satisfied that nothing was out of the ordinary and that he could walk without puking, he rolled out of bed and headed straight for the showers, shower crate, and a change of clothes in tow. 

After his much-needed post-shower routine, he finally felt like he could eat and have it not make him feel like he was on a boat in the middle of the pacific ocean. He opted for a small cafe that had his favorite selection of quiche and a mocha chai that made him melt. This one was a little more of the way than the one he frequented with his friends, but the atmosphere and the small coziness of it were charming and the people who worked there were so nice he couldn’t just _stop_ coming back, especially after they treated him to free hot cocoa when he happened upon the place on accident when he got caught in a nasty rainstorm without an umbrella or raincoat. They graciously allowed him to stay until after closing until Hunk could pick him up in his car. 

Lance wrote a note of the whiteboard the trio bought for the room so they could leave each other messages while the others were out. 

_Went out~ be back later_

_ <3 Lance _

He placed the marker back in the cup and headed out after making sure that he had his wallet and house keys on him. He always made sure to double-check after he was ripped a new asshole by Pidge after they received the 10th phonecall in less than two weeks from Lance who needed rescuing after locking himself outside of the apartment. Once assured that he was set, he headed out into the early afternoon chill of fall and made his way to his favorite hole-in-the-wall location. 

* * *

The walk, while too bright for Lance’s current taste, was still pleasant, feeling refreshed despite the crusty and hungover dryness his body felt. His nose knew he was there before he even turned the corner. It always had the strong fragrance of freshly ground beans and pastries that made the little cafe all the more welcoming. 

It was a small building, longer than that it was wide, with a long counter and selection of flavorings and teas along the back of the wall. There was a display case along the counter that held a mouth-watering array of pastries and quiches that Lance could never make up his mind over (He always gets the quiche in the end). The seating area was comfily cramped with love seats and tables, thrown around like it was a teenager’s basement their mom let them make into a hangout zone for them and their friends and Lance loved that about it. The chairs were all vintage and mismatched and thrifted, perfectly unmatched with equally unmatched coffee tables with years of water and coffee rings stained into the various kinds of wood. Lance immediately felt his fatigue begin to melt away. The room was comfortably warm and it was his little heaven. The barista noticed him and gave him a warm smile and welcomed him over. 

“Hey, Lance!” She said excitedly. “Long time no see where have you been?” Lance rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, realizing that it may have been longer than he’d had realized.

“Haha yeah sorry about that, I guess I’ve just been busy,” he admitted guiltily. 

“No worries!” she beamed, “The usual?” She already began reaching for one of the extra-large ceramic mugs. 

“You’re an angel, thanks Romelle.” The barista giggled and continued making the drink she knew Lance would sell a kidney to get his hands on if it came down to it since he had mentioned it on more than one occasion. Lance took up one of his favorite spots by the window where the sun shined in and made him feel like a lazy cat. Romelle bustling around behind the counter, warming up a poppy seed muffin that Lance didn’t even have to say he wanted because she already knew. The barista was a very spunky blonde that was the one that rescued him on that rainy day and of course, Lance had to shoot his shot with her, she was cute after all, and was promptly turned down as 1. She was a lesbian, and 2. She was dating someone to which Lance responded with finger guns and “oh nice.” From then on she became just a cool person that he enjoyed talking to and ended up finding out that she gave really good advice. 

“All right Lance!” Romelle called out, breaking Lance away from his thoughts.

“Thanks, doll~” Lance winked and took his mocha chai to which Romelle giggled and winked back, before getting back to business. Lance was about ¾ done with his muffin, halfway done with his drink, and balls deep into Buzzfeed quizzes before he was jolted out of his thoughts. 

“Triple shot espresso for Keith!” He heard a voice call out. Lance looked around and before he could think it was just a coincidence, there he was. Keith was wearing ripped black skinny jeans that looked way too good on him, and an oversized red sweater that was just as flattering somehow, Lance stared for just a little too long before he was noticed and Keith was in front of him.

“H-hey it’s Lance right?” Lance’s jaw opened and closed for a moment while he looked for the proper words to respond with but ended up with a very smooth,

“O-Oh uh yeah hey, hi.” He smacked himself mentally. Keith smiled a bit and chuckled,

“I just wanted to apologize for the other day. I was rude to you when you were just being nice and that wasn’t cool. I was having a bad day and ended up taking it out on you…” Keith picked at the bottom of his sweater nervously, his tone suggesting he wasn’t used to doing this. Once Lance’s brain was in the now and he was functioning again he was able to come back to himself.

“Oh! That? Don’t worry about it, it was fine. It’s my bad for being so upfront, I know I can come across as a bit much sometimes,” he admitted, with a nervous chuckle. “Wanna sit with me?” Keith relaxed and nodded with a small grin. 

“Sure.”

Lance made room on the small couch and Keith sat cross-legged at his side. Lance was happy but couldn’t help but feel some guilt, however, he couldn’t pinpoint why.

“YOUR BROTHER??” Lance and Keith were still in the cafe. They had gotten to talking and Lance being Lance, he was able to get Keith to open up pretty easily, and before he knew it, he was spilling his whole life story and it didn’t take long for him to start complaining about his smarter and more successful older brother whose class he was forced to take in hopes that his whatever will rub off on him. 

“Wait wait wait,” Lance rubbed his temples to get past the shock. “Professor Shirogane is your _brother_?”

“Yeah, unfortunately… Don’t get me wrong I love him and all but it’s hard when he’s all, big science astronaut guy and I’m well, _not_ ,” Lance saw the scarred over hurt on his face, years of feeling less significant scabbing over but the dull pain never really leaving. He could understand. His older sister Veronica made the same kind of impact with her drive and good grades that Lance just never felt the need for. “You seem, surprised though,” Keith chuckled, bringing Lance out of his thoughts. 

“Oh well uh- you guys have two different last names and you don’t really look alike…”

“I’m adopted, they chose to keep my last name to honor my parents. They died in a fire when I was 2 and they figured since I won’t remember them, I might as well keep the name. Before Lance could even apologize or give condolences, Keith raised his hand. “Don’t. It’s fine. As I said, I don’t remember them, and my parents gave me a good life. They loved me and cheered me on, even if I was never as exceptional as Takashi.” 

Lance closed his mouth and sat back in his seat. He thinks he might be in deep with this guy… He chuckles and rubbed the back of his neck with a blush. 

“I’m embarrassed to admit it but when I saw you guys interacting I thought you were like, I don’t know, doing stuff…” Lance’s face grew hotter with every word, unsure why he was even telling Keith this. He looked up to meet Keith’s eyes and was met with a deadpan stare. 

“You thought that Shiro and I were fucking?” Keith raised an eyebrow and Lance winced.

“Y-yeah a little…”

“He’s married.”

“I know! I don’t know I thought it could be like a ‘hey give me an A’ kind of thing??” It sounded stupid the second that it came out of Lance’s mouth. Lance knew that, and looking at Keith’s face, he knew that Keith knew that too. Keith was Keith and he didn’t really look like the “Oh teacher I’ll do anything for an A~” kind of guy. He seemed more like an “I don’t give a fuck what grade I get just as long as we stay out of each other’s way” kind of guy, which wasn’t too far off from the truth. 

“Ew.” 

Lance figured he probably was the shade of a tomato at this point and he could imagine that Keith was having fun with this considering the obvious “trying not to laugh” look on his face.   
“Sorry…” Lance apologized and deflated into the worn seat. Well, at least this meant he was single. Oh. _Oh_. “So then… are you uh- seeing anyone?” Keith raised his eyebrow again, making Lance shift awkwardly, the scrutiny he was feeling was up to par with his mother when she finds out about one of the stupid things he’s done. “Oh, wait, was that weird? Out of line? Fuck-” He buried his face in his hands wishing he was never cursed with the ability of speech because god that would make this whole situation disappear and that would be magical at the moment. Keith finally broke and started to laugh, the scene in front of him making him feel way too much pity to just leave alone. 

“Lance oh my god. You’re _fine_. The whole Takashi thing threw me off but honestly, it’s hilarious, especially since you seemed to be so distraught about it~” Keith leaned back into the seat relaxed and arms crossed casually. “And no, I’m currently single.” Lance perked up, face leaving the safety of his hands to see if he could maybe even salvage this. 

“Yo-you are?” Lance’s heart thrummed in his chest, hope starting to reignite. 

Keith kept it cool, examining his nails and the chipped paint he keeps forgetting to fix. “Yep.”

Lance bites his lip. “Can I- can I take you out sometime?”

“Aren’t we already out?” Lance swallowed and fumbled over what to say next because what the hell who is this smooth? Lance normally is but that must have puked it out when he got sick in the shower. 

“Well I mean yeah but like I mean _out-”_

“Lance, are you trying to ask me out on a _date_?” Keith faked a surprised expression of which Lance was too nervous to pick up on. 

“Is that okay?” Keith couldn’t help but laugh at the whole display. He’d heard about Lance around the campus and about how he was a real charmer for guys and girls alike, so to see him in such a state has to be something of a rare sight. Keith couldn’t help but grin at the idea that _he_ made Lance nervous. Keith stood up and picked up his bag and began to walk out, getting a bit of an admittedly sadistic kick out of the way Lance deflated a little. 

“I’m busy with classes and my job all week so how about next Saturday?” It took Lance a moment for the gears in his brain to make sense of the moment before the lightbulb went off in his brain. 

“Wait so is that a yes?” Keith grinned threw his bag over his shoulder. 

“Pick me up in front of the library at 6, that’s when I get off.” He turned around after saluting with a wink. “See ya in class lover boy~”

* * *

Lance, of course, the moment he got home, had to tell the first person he saw which ended up being Pidge who was not excited since she was mid-build of her robotics project. After Lance’s long-winded (and a little embellished to make himself sound smoother) story, Pidge rolled her eyes and took off the magnifying goggles that gave her a headache when she even had to think about anything that wasn’t what she was doing. 

“Lance, I’m happy that you’re happy but you’re always quick to claim someone to be your soulmate or as “the one” and then two days later hunk is going to the grocery store to buy you the big bins of Neopolitan ice cream and extra plush tissues.” Lance huffed in response and crossed his arms. 

“I’ll admit that I have big feelings and I let them run rampant sometimes but I feel really good about this one. I think he might be special.” Pidge sighed and leaned back into the sofa where Lance was now seated next to her. 

“I trust you, Lance, I just don’t like to see you hurting…”

“Aww you do feel things, Pidgeon,” Lance teased, moving in for a hug. Pidge let him hug her while her arms went limply to her sides. 

“Yeah, and if you tell anyone I’ll hold your facemasks hostage.” Lance gasped in response and pulled back, face contorted with offense. 

“That’s evil. _You’re_ evil.”

“Yep and don’t forget it.”

Lance of course excitedly told Hunk about the date to which he responded more enthusiastically and with less threatening of his beauty products. They celebrated with some pizza bagels and video games until Lance realized he had a class in the morning and it was now somehow 2 am. He bid his friends goodnight and went to start his nightly routine, a smile never able to leave his face.

It was 4 pm and Lance had changed his shirt so many times he was working up a sweat. He wasn’t _nervous_ … okay yeah, he was nervous. In his defense, Keith was the most unique and admittedly dazzling person he’d ever met. He wasn’t flashy in the way he dressed or anything like that he just stood out in a way that Lance had never really seen before. He was moody and had a dry sense of humor and in honesty, he wasn’t Lance’s usual type. When it came to people he usually was attracted to more outgoing and cheerful personalities, ones that easily matched his energy, and Keith was Lance’s polar opposite which he supposed is why the expression ‘opposites attract’ existed but still. Keith had long dark eyelashes and bright violet eyes that made Lance’s heart race every time they met his own. He couldn’t help but blush at just the thought of it all. His slender frame, the way his long hair framed his face, the way he wore it in a messy braid over his shoulder… okay, he was drooling now. Lance groaned and belly-flopped onto his mattress. No one had ever made him lose his cool the way he did with Keith. Years of a carefully manufactured outward appearance went out the window with one look and it honestly scared the shit out of Lance because this was uncharted territory since his usually trusty ability to flirt went out the window, however, this was all a walk in the dark and that also excited him. 

It had felt so long since he felt the way he felt when he was 11 and he was telling Cara Jenkins that he thought she was pretty, or when he was 13 and asked a girl out the first time, or even when he was 15 and dared to tell his best friend that he thought he was attractive. Of course, that person was Hunk so that didn’t go so bad for him. They never really dated but to not get punched in the face like he assumed would happen was pretty cool. 

Lance checked his watch. 4:15. Ugh. 

“huUUUNNKKKK.” Lance managed to sit himself up and yell out to his friend and was responded with an equally dramatic

“whAAAATTTTT,” from the kitchen.

“CAN YOU MAKE ME SOME ABUELITAAA?”

“OKAY”

“THANK YOU”

As soon as he could smell the chocolate he was revived and emerged from the room and sat at the breakfast nook in front of the stove where Hunk was stirring the pot of hot chocolate.

“Nervous?” Hunk asks, giving his friend a knowing look. 

Lance watches while his best friend pours the pale brown surgery beverage into a big mug. “What makes you say that?”

Hunk hands over Lance’s ‘World’s Best Dad” mug and pours out his portion in his favorite puppy mug, both of which they found at a second-hand store when they were desperate for kitchenware when first moving into the apartment.

“Because you always want Abuelita when you’re anxious or upset.”

Lance groaned and slammed his head into the table with a loud _thunk_. 

“That’s what I thought,” Hunk chuckled, taking a drink. “Talk to me buddy, not looking forward to the date?”

“It’s not that really. In fact, I’m super excited. But like. Keith makes me feel a certain way that I can’t really explain and it’s so new, and well… scary.” Hunk hums in understanding while Lance takes a drink, instantly feeling calm. 

“Well ask yourself this, bud,” Hunk begins, “Is it a good scary, or a bad scary?” Lance sat in contemplation and Hunk figured he’d have to further explain. “Is it the kind of scary that makes you want to run away and hide, or is it the kind that makes you nervous, but the way a rollercoaster does. You’re scared but kind of looking forward to it. You still smile in line to wait for the ride even though you’re shaking.” Lance was at a loss for words. 

“Th-the second one,” he realized, after a few minutes of silence. 

“Mhm. Then I think you’re fine, man. There’s nothing wrong with being a little lost. It might make it more fun.” Hunk patted his shoulder and took their now empty mugs back to the sink. “Now you better get going, you don’t want to be late.”


End file.
